Author Alyssa Harad Enters the World of Scent

Talk to any true fragrance-o-phile—or, as we like to call them at Allure, frago-nerds—and you'll quickly realize that they're not normal people. They hoard perfumes in their homes (sometimes stashing them in the fridge), describe smells with words like "gourmand," and can pick up any scent within a half-mile radius (did somebody eat an onion bagel?). Like many obsessives, they inhabit a whole nutty, fascinating subculture—one that author (and previous fragrance neophyte) Alyssa Harad explores in her memoir *Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride * (Viking), out July 1. Here, she discusses some of her inspirations—and the birth of her inner frago-nerd:

"Right around the time I got engaged, I was spending a lot of time online avoiding various errands. I stumbled on a blog about perfume (Now Smell This). I had never thought it would be possible to describe smells that way. It was love at first read."

Did you have previous experience with fragrance?

"I always had a few bottles of this or that, but as I learned more, I became part of a community. I met people online and swapped perfume in the mail. I started getting packages from Greece and South Korea."

What did you learn about choosing a scent?

"Don't make a decision too quickly. It's an incredibly intimate thing to have a smell hanging around your body. Take home a sample and then go back if you really like it."

Has your relationship with scent changed the other relationships in your life?

"I've become so much happier. When you have more pleasure in your life, you have more to give to other people."